


Potion for Two

by cabbages



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Elemental Magic, M/M, Magic, Potions, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 22:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabbages/pseuds/cabbages
Summary: Chanyeol gets exam anxiety and needs something to calm him down. So he goes to the best potion brewer he knows.Kyungsoo makes potions like nobody else can, but that isn't the only reason Chanyeol keeps coming back for more.





	Potion for Two

**Author's Note:**

> so uhhhhhhhh i saw a writing prompt and literally had to write it right then and there, and this is the result
> 
> this is probably going to have multiple chapters but dont expect them soon since i have like fifty million other things i also want to work on sorryyyyyyy

The first time Chanyeol came to him was late—much too late, as far as he was concerned—on a Tuesday night. It was raining, had been for at least a week straight at that point, and Kyungsoo was holed up in his room as always, a boiling pot of who knows what stirring itself with a spoon on the stove as he sat hunched over a book, flipping through pages with the fervor of a frantic student cramming last minute for an exam. Which he was, in a way.

Kyungsoo felt his presence well before he heard the hesitant knock on his door. The spoon stopped mid-stir upon the first detection of unfamiliar energy. He paused in his literary search and waited, counting exactly seven seconds before the soft knock came and he stood up, mentally preparing himself for social interaction. There was a reason he took the single room in the basement that none of the other kids wanted.

He opened the door and came face to face with a broad chest, t-shirt a tad small so the fabric strained against the person’s admittedly impressive pecs. Kyungsoo lifted his eyes, craned his neck upwards. Soft brown eyes stared down at him; comically large ears stuck out from either side of an equally large head. The stranger’s lips lifted into an awkward smile.

“Are you Do Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo blinked. “Yeah,”

“Hi, I’m Park Chanyeol. I think we’re in the same potions class?”

He had to think for a second. Giraffe of a man with ears the size of Dumbo…potions class…it rang a tiny bell of recollection in his head. Chanyeol sat a few rows behind him with that one kid…what was his name? It started with a B, maybe. That one kid who didn’t know when to shut his mouth.

“I sit behind you with Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol offered a moment later. The pieces clicked nicely into place. Ah, Baekhyun. That was the guy. Kyungsoo couldn’t stand him.

Kyungsoo stood there in the doorway, face expressionless. “Why are you here?” he asked bluntly. They both had a potions exam the next morning, and Kyungsoo was already pushing his attention span as far as it could go as it was, having stayed up till three in the morning and counting just to make absolutely sure he knew each potion recipe that he might be tested on. In consequence, his energy and his patience was, quite frankly, wearing thin. He was in no mood to talk to random classmates he hardly knew. 

Chanyeol shuffled, one hand coming back to rub his neck. “Uh,” he looked down at his shoes. “We have that potions exam tomorrow-“

“I’m not tutoring you.”

His eyes snapped up, startled. “N-no, I wasn’t going to ask for that. It’s just, I can’t study when I’m stressed. I’ve heard that you’re really good at potions. I was wondering…” He looked away again, a pinkish blush tinting his cheeks. “I was wondering if you could give me something to deal with the anxiety? So I can study?”

Sleep was tugging at Kyungsoo’s eyes. He closed them, sighing loudly, and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “And you came to me at three in the morning because…?”

“…I didn’t start studying until now?” Chanyeol answered sheepishly. Kyungsoo opened his eyes and gave him an icy glare. “I was working all day, I didn’t have time.”

“Why don’t you ask Baekhyun? I’m sure he’s capable.”

Chanyeol snorted. “Dude. He set a pot of water on fire last week. I can’t even trust him to boil _water_ correctly, much less make a potion.”

Silence stretched for several seconds. When after a few moments Kyungsoo still hadn’t replied, Chanyeol’s expression morphed into one of dejection and he backed away from the door reluctantly. 

He let out a disappointed sigh. “That’s okay. It was too short notice anyway. Sorry I bothered you.” He turned to leave, shoulders slumping in defeat, ears seeming to droop with sadness.

Kyungsoo’s lips starting moving on their own. He clenched his jaw, gritted his teeth tightly together to stop the words from leaving his mouth, but they managed to slip through the cracks anyway. “Come in,” he said stiffly. He stepped aside, clearing the doorway. Heavens above, he was going to regret this.

Chanyeol stopped halfway down the dimly lit hallway. Turning around, he regarded Kyungsoo with a look of pure elation. “Really?” he exclaimed. “Are you sure? I know it’s late, but-“

“Just come in before I change my mind.” And Chanyeol wasted no time closing the gap and entering the shorter man’s dorm. Kyungsoo shut the door softly behind them, mumbling something under his breath. Suddenly, the entire room seemed to spring to life. Candles placed meticulously around the room flickered to life, giving the space a nice warm glow. Clothes that were left haphazardly on the floor rose and settled themselves into a hamper next to Kyungsoo’s bed. The curtains shielding the single tiny window in the room parted and the window opened, letting in the comforting scent of rain.

Chanyeol watched in awe as a black cat casually floated by and came to rest on the couch. Immediately he felt himself drawn to the fuzzy creature and he reached forward to pet it, only to snatch his hand back with lightning speed as the cat let out a sharp hiss.

“Monyu doesn’t like strangers,” Kyungsoo belatedly warned. When Chanyeol only managed to stare at him wide-eyed and slack-mouthed he couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. He gestured to the dining room table. “Might as well sit down. It’ll take a little bit to brew.”

Chanyeol fidgeted. “Can I…can I watch you make it? I can learn to make it myself so I don’t have to bother you next time,” he said quickly, the familiar heat rising to his cheeks. Kyungsoo only stared at him blankly before relenting and waving him over to the stove. Chanyeol jumped up from his seat excitedly and bounded over to Kyungsoo’s side. Kyungsoo could physically feel the mix of delight and anxiousness radiating from his entire being. It made Kyungsoo fidget, constantly shifting his weight from foot to foot, unable to stand still. The energy smashing into him made him feel like he needed to do something _, anything,_ but simultaneously afraid to do it.

"Can you move over a little bit?” he asked Chanyeol uncomfortably. “Can’t exactly work when you crowd around me like that.” Chanyeol apologized hastily and shifted more to the right, and the restlessness greatly dissipated. Sometimes it sucked being hypersensitive to people’s energy.

Chanyeol peered into the pot of boiling chartreuse-colored liquid on the stove that had resumed stirring. It had a peculiar smell that had Chanyeol’s nose stinging. His face scrunched with distaste. “What is that?” he wondered aloud.

Kyungsoo set a new pot on the unoccupied burner. “Lemon balm and chamomile. It’s a work in progress.” He lit the gas burner with a wave of his hand and set the pot on top, then reached up to open the cupboards. He brought down a large, mostly empty jar of what Chanyeol assumed was water. He watched as Kyungsoo frowned and shook his head. “Damn,” he muttered. “Almost out of moon water.”

“Moon water?” Chanyeol questioned.

Kyungsoo looked at him as if he had three heads. “Don’t tell me use you regular water for potions.”

He shrugged. “That’s what Professor Kim taught us…”

“Well he’s an idiot and should’ve never been hired. Moon water is far better for potions. It infuses the potion with more energy. Makes it more powerful.” He watched as Kyungsoo measured out two cups of the apparently extra powerful water and poured it into the pot. He then stuck a thermometer in the pot and cranked up the heat. “The water has to reach 103 degrees Celsius and boil for exactly one and a half minutes. Then we reduce the heat and add our other ingredients.”

Chanyeol would say he was impressed, but for some reason he felt like Kyungsoo wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. Instead, he quietly nodded. He never realized that potion making could be so precise. Maybe that’s why his potions always seemed to fail at achieving their intended effect.

Kyungsoo carefully placed several small purple crystals into the moon water. “Is that amethyst?” Chanyeol asked, and silently applauded himself when Kyungsoo nodded. It was a miracle he managed to remember anything from his crystals and minerals class. That was his second hardest subject—and yet compared to potions it felt infinitely easier.

“Amethyst will further infuse energy into the potion,” Kyungsoo explained. “It confers stability and inner peace, and helps with clearing the mind so you can focus better.”

They stood in silence for a little while as they waited for the pot to boil. Chanyeol wanted to say something, to thank Kyungsoo for actually taking him in at such an early hour of the morning and having the patience and energy to not only make him a potion but teach him how at the same time. He wanted so much to express his gratitude, and yet he found himself wrapped up in how focused Kyungsoo seemed, how he completely immersed himself in the art of potion making. It captivated him; Chanyeol felt like he could watch Kyungsoo brew potions all day and never get tired of it. There was just something therapeutic about it all. He hadn’t even drunk the potion yet but already he could feel its effects. It was magical. Literally.

Several minutes later, the water was boiling. Kyungsoo checked the temperature and started a timer, and one and a half minutes later he began to add the rest of the ingredients.

“One tablespoon of lavender,” he said, sprinkling dried purple petals into the pot. “Four rosebuds. No more, no less.” He counted out and tossed in exactly four red flower heads. “And a dash of lemon zest. For purification.” Chanyeol gave him a questioning look. “Helps purify the spirit and better attune it to magic,” Kyungsoo explained further.

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows. “I thought this was a relaxation potion.”

Kyungsoo pointedly looked away. “It is. I decided to tweak it a little bit and add something extra. Trust me, you need it.”

Chanyeol wanted to be offended but instead found the gesture rather thoughtful. It was true that he wasn’t exactly the smartest student at school. In fact, he was often bottom of his class. Magic just didn’t come naturally to him, no matter how hard he tried. It made him feel inadequate when Baekhyun was able to perfect a spell on the first try or do something without even thinking about it, while he had to practice ten times as hard. Even Kyungsoo could sense that, and it made Chanyeol envious that he could even have that level of magical perception in the first place. But he couldn’t get mad at Kyungsoo for trying to help. Chanyeol had come to _him_ , after all.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo said, startling Chanyeol out of his musings. “We’ll let this boil for another two minutes while stirring clockwise. It’s very important that you spin clockwise. If you don’t, you’ll ruin the entire brew and it’ll be useless.”

“Why?”

“Clockwise is the natural progression of time. Time always goes forward. It symbolizes progress. If you stir counterclockwise, you’re infusing the potion with backwards, or negative, energy. We want calm, to go with the flow. Counterclockwise gives us the opposite of that.”

Chanyeol was in awe. “Wow,” he breathed. “You really know your stuff. That’s amazing.”

Kyungsoo shrugged, turning away and shielding his face from view. “Not really.”

“Oh come on, how many other people would know to do that? I don’t think Professor Kim’s ever said anything about stirring in a certain direction. He never mentioned moon water either. Where do you learn this stuff?”

“I like to read,” He gestured to the book that laid open and forgotten on the table behind them, then motioned with his head to the still boiling pot of lemon balm and chamomile on the other burner. “I was studying that other potion before you got here.”

A sudden realization dawned on Chanyeol. “That’s been sitting there for a long time. I hope I didn’t ruin it for you,” he worried.

Kyungsoo shrugged again. A small amused smile tugged at his lips as he extinguished the burner and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard. “It’s fine. It was already ruined before you came. I added too much lemon balm. Figured I’d try to salvage it but it was doomed from the start.”

Before Chanyeol could say anything else, Kyungsoo took out a strainer and strained the potion into each glass. The used petals were thrown away with a quiet word of thanks for their sacrifice, and the crystals were run under water, then placed into a glass bowl of clean tap water that Kyungsoo set on the window sill. When he returned to the kitchen, he handed one glass to Chanyeol and took the other for himself, then settled onto the couch next to his cat.

This time, as Chanyeol approached, the cat did not hiss—rather, it glared as Chanyeol walked past and sat down on Kyungsoo’s left. He raised the glass to his lips, inhaling the blend of floral and citrus scents deeply into his lungs. The steam tickled his nose as it wisped around his face. He took a tentative sip of the piping hot beverage and felt all of his pre-exam jitters melting away as soon as the potion slid down his throat.

He turned and looked at Kyungsoo, who was sipping his potion slowly, eyes closed as he savored the taste, the relaxation, the entire experience. “This is delicious,” Chanyeol praised. Kyungsoo gave a gentle smile without opening his eyes. “I really appreciate you making it for me,”

Kyungsoo hummed. “You should be able to study better now, if you can stay awake.” He suddenly opened his eyes, frowning into his cup. “Maybe I should’ve added orange peel instead…” he muttered.

Chanyeol laughed. “It’s perfect the way it is. Thank you.”

They spent the next fifteen minutes in comfortable silence as they finished their brews. When Chanyeol took the last gulp of his potion he set his glass down gently on the coffee table. Placing his hands on his thighs, he pushed himself up off the couch and stretched his arms high above his head, reaching for the stars. He let out a groan, followed by a sigh of relief.

“Well, thanks for the potion. I better get-“

He stopped, finding Kyungsoo asleep and breathing softly on the couch. Monyu was curled comfortably in his lap, eyes now open and regarding Chanyeol warily due to the noise. His gaze followed the strange human as Chanyeol quietly walked over to the door. He thought for a moment, then quickly scribbled a short message on a sticky note and placed said note on the dining table next to Kyungsoo’s potion book.

He waved goodbye to Monyu, who had already lost interest and fallen back asleep, then carefully slipped out of Kyungsoo’s dorm, filled with positive thoughts as he trekked across campus to resume studying for his exam.

And when Kyungsoo woke up later that morning to his cat pawing at his face, he eventually found the note, smiling lightly to himself as he read it, before getting ready for the long day ahead of him.

_Kyungsoo,_

_Thanks again for the potion. Sorry I interrupted your work; I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. I’ll see you in potions tomorrow! Good luck on the exam!_

_\- Chanyeol_

_PS. Maybe we can make more potions sometimes?_


End file.
